''Oldboy'' () is a 2003 South Korean
neo-noir
Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...
action thriller film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
directed and co-written by
Park Chan-wook
Park Chan-wook ( ; born 23 August 1963) is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, producer, and former film critic. He is considered as one of the most prominent filmmakers of South Korean cinema as well as world cinema in 21st century. H ...
. A loose adaptation of
the Japanese manga of the same name, the film follows the story of Oh Dae-su (
Choi Min-sik
Choi Min-sik (born April 27, 1962) is a South Korean actor. He received critical acclaim for his roles in '' Oldboy'' (2003), ''I Saw the Devil'' (2010) and '' The Admiral: Roaring Currents'' (2014).
For his role in ''Oldboy'', he won the Best ...
), who is imprisoned in a cell which resembles a hotel room for 15 years without knowing the identity of his captor nor his captor's motives. When he is finally released, Dae-su finds himself still trapped in a web of conspiracy and violence. His own quest for vengeance becomes tied in with romance when he falls in love with an attractive young sushi chef, Mi-do (
Kang Hye-jung
Kang Hye-jung (born January 4, 1982) is a South Korean actress. Making her film debut in arthouse film ''Nabi'' (2001), she rose to stardom and critical acclaim in Park Chan-wook's 2003 revenge thriller '' Oldboy''. A rising star early in her c ...
).
The film won the
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
at the
2004 Cannes Film Festival
The 57th Cannes Film Festival started on 12 and ran until 23 May 2004 in film, 2004. The Palme d'Or went to the United States, American film ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' by Michael Moore.
The festival opened with ''Bad Education (2004 film), La mala educa ...
and high praise from the president of the jury, director
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
. The film has received widespread acclaim in the United States, with film critic
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
stating that ''Oldboy'' is a "powerful film not because of what it depicts, but because of the depths of the human heart which it strips bare".
It also received praise for its action sequences, most notably the
single shot
Single-shot firearms are firearms that hold only a single round of ammunition, and must be reloaded manually after every shot. The history of firearms began with single-shot designs, then multi-barreled designs appeared, and eventually many cent ...
corridor fight sequence.
It has been regarded as one of the best films of all time and listed among the best films of the 2000s in several publications. The film has had two remakes, an unauthorised
2006 Hindi film and a
2013 American film. The film is the second installment of Park's ''
The Vengeance Trilogy
''The Vengeance Trilogy'' ( ko, italic=yes, 복수 삼부작) is a South Korean thematically-linked film trilogy directed by Park Chan-wook, comprising '' Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance'' (2002), '' Oldboy'' (2003) and ''Lady Vengeance'' (2005). Ea ...
'', preceded by ''
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
''Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance'' (; lit. "Vengeance Is Mine") is a 2002 South Korean thriller film directed and co-written by Park Chan-wook. The film stars Shin Ha-kyun as Ryu, a young, deaf-mute factory worker trying to earn enough money for his ...
'' (2002) and followed by ''
Lady Vengeance
''Lady Vengeance'' (; ; titled ''Sympathy for Lady Vengeance'' in Australia and Russia) is a 2005 South Korean psychological thriller film directed by Park Chan-wook. The film is the third and final installment in Park's '' Vengeance Trilogy'', ...
'' (2005).
Plot
In 1988, businessman Oh Dae-su is arrested for drunkenness, missing his daughter's fourth birthday. After his friend Joo-hwan picks him up from the
police station
A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...
, Dae-su is kidnapped and wakes up in a sealed hotel room, where food is delivered through a
pet door
A pet door or pet flap (also referred to in more specific terms, such as cat flap, cat door, kitty door, dog flap, dog door, or doggy/doggie door) is a small opening to allow pets to enter and exit a building on their own without needing a human t ...
. Dae-su learns that his wife has been murdered and that he has been framed as a prime suspect by his captors. As years of imprisonment pass, Dae-su hallucinates, grows deranged from solitude, and eventually attempts suicide. While unconscious after slashing his wrists, Dae-su is resuscitated and bandaged, prevented from dying in order to ensure that he continues to live in agony. After this, Dae-su passes the time practicing
shadowboxing
Shadowboxing is a combat sport exercise in which a person throws punches at the air as though there is an opponent. Practised primarily in boxing, it is used mainly to prepare the muscles before the person training engages in stronger physical ...
and attempting to dig an
escape tunnel
An escape tunnel is a form of secret passage used as part of an escape from siege or captivity. In medieval times such tunnels are usually constructed by the builders of castles or palaces who wish to have an escape route if their domain is un ...
in order to seek vengeance against his captors.
In 2003, Dae-su is suddenly released after being sedated and
hypnotized
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...
. Dae-su wakes up and, after testing his fighting skills on a group of thugs, a mysterious beggar gives him money and a
cell phone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
. Dae-su enters a
sushi
is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is " ...
restaurant where he meets Mi-do, a young chef. He receives a taunting phone call from his captor, collapses, and is taken in by Mi-do. Dae-su attempts to leave Mi-do's apartment, but Mi-do, now interested in Dae-su, stops him. They reconcile and begin to form a bond. After he recovers, Dae-su attempts to find his daughter, but gives up on trying to contact her after learning she was adopted after his kidnapping. Now focused on identifying his captors, Dae-su locates the
Chinese restaurant
A Chinese restaurant is an establishment that serves a Chinese cuisine. Most of them are in the Cantonese cuisine, Cantonese style, due to the history of the Overseas Chinese, Chinese diaspora and adapted to local taste preferences, as in t ...
that made his prison food and finds the prison by following a deliveryman.
Dae-su learns the hotel he was held in is a
private prison
A private prison, or for-profit prison, is a place where people are imprisoned by a third party that is contracted by a government agency. Private prison companies typically enter into contractual agreements with governments that commit pr ...
, where people pay to have others incarcerated. He tortures and interrogates the
warden
A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint.
''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...
, Mr. Park Cheol-woong, who divulges that Dae-su was imprisoned for "talking too much". Mr. Park's guards come to attack Dae-su, and they fight fiercely in the hotel corridor; Dae-su is stabbed but manages to defeat all of them. Dae-su's captor is revealed to be a wealthy businessman named Lee Woo-jin. Woo-jin gives him an ultimatum: if Dae-su can uncover the motive for his imprisonment within five days, Woo-jin will kill himself; otherwise, he will kill Mi-do. Dae-su and Mi-do get close and have sex. Meanwhile, Joo-hwan tries to contact Dae-su with important information, but is murdered by Woo-jin. Dae-su eventually recalls that he and Woo-jin went to the same high school, and that he witnessed Woo-jin committing
incest
Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...
with his own sister. Dae-su told Joo-hwan what he saw, which led to his classmates gossiping about it. Rumors spread and Woo-jin's sister committed suicide, leading a grief-stricken Woo-jin to seek revenge. In the present, Woo-jin cuts off Mr. Park's hand, leading Mr. Park and his gang to join forces with Dae-su. Dae-su leaves Mi-do with Mr. Park and sets out to face Woo-jin.
At Woo-jin's
penthouse
Penthouse most often refers to:
*Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building
*Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine
*Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...
, he shows Dae-su a purple box containing a
family album containing photos of Dae-su, his wife, and his infant daughter together from years ago, progressing to show how his daughter grew up. Woo-jin then reveals that Mi-do is actually Dae-su's daughter, and that he had orchestrated everything, using hypnosis to guide Dae-su to the restaurant so he and Mi-do would fall in love, so that Dae-su would experience the same pain of incest that he did. Woo-jin reveals that Mr. Park is still working for him and threatens to tell the truth to Mi-do. Dae-su apologizes for being the source of the rumor that caused the death of Woo-jin's sister, and humiliates himself by imitating a dog and begging. When Woo-jin is unimpressed, Dae-su cuts out his own tongue as a sign of
penance
Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...
. Woo-jin finally accepts Dae-su's apology and tells Mr. Park to hide the truth from Mi-do. He then drops the device he claims is the remote to his
pacemaker
An artificial cardiac pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker, so as not to be confused with the natural cardiac pacemaker) or pacemaker is a medical device that generates electrical impulses delivered by electrodes to the chambers of the heart eith ...
and walks away. Dae-su activates the device in an attempt to kill Woo-jin, only to find it is actually a remote for
loudspeaker
A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or " ...
s, which play an audio recording of Dae-su and Mi-do having sex. As Dae-su collapses in despair, Woo-jin enters the elevator, where he recalls his sister's suicide and kills himself by handgun.
Some time later, Dae-su finds the hypnotist and asks her to
erase his knowledge of Mi-do being his daughter so that they can stay happy together. To persuade her, he repeats the question he heard from the man on the rooftop, and the hypnotist agrees. Afterward, Mi-do finds Dae-su lying in snow, but there are no signs of the hypnotist. Mi-do confesses her love for him and the two embrace. Dae-su breaks into a wide smile, which is slowly replaced by a more ambiguous expression.
Cast
*
Choi Min-sik
Choi Min-sik (born April 27, 1962) is a South Korean actor. He received critical acclaim for his roles in '' Oldboy'' (2003), ''I Saw the Devil'' (2010) and '' The Admiral: Roaring Currents'' (2014).
For his role in ''Oldboy'', he won the Best ...
as Oh Dae-su, a businessman who seeks revenge after being held in a mysterious prison for 15 years. Choi Min-sik lost and gained weight for his role depending on the filming schedule, trained for six weeks, and did most of his own stunt work.
** Oh Tae-kyung as young Dae-su
*
Yoo Ji-tae
Yoo Ji-tae (born April 13, 1976) is a South Korean actor, film director and screenwriter. After a stint as a fashion model, Yoo launched his acting career in 1998 then rose to fame through the films ''Attack the Gas Station'' (1999) and ''Ditto' ...
as Lee Woo-jin, the man behind Oh Dae-su's imprisonment. Park Chan-wook's ideal choice for Woo-jin had been actor
Han Suk-kyu
Han Suk-kyu (born November 3, 1964) is a South Korean actor. One of the leading actors of Korean cinema, Han's notable works include ''Green Fish'' (1997), '' No. 3'' (1997), '' Christmas in August'' (1998), '' Shiri'' (1999), ''The Scarlet Lett ...
, who previously played a rival to Choi Min-sik in ''
Shiri'' and ''
No. 3''. Choi then suggested Yoo Ji-tae for the role, despite Park believing he was too young for the part.
**
Yoo Yeon-seok
Yoo Yeon-seok (born Ahn Yeon-seok on April 11, 1984) is a South Korean actor. After making his acting debut in 2003 with a small role in '' Oldboy'', he resumed his acting career in 2008. His notable works include the films '' Re-encounter'' (2 ...
as young Woo-jin
*
Kang Hye-jung
Kang Hye-jung (born January 4, 1982) is a South Korean actress. Making her film debut in arthouse film ''Nabi'' (2001), she rose to stardom and critical acclaim in Park Chan-wook's 2003 revenge thriller '' Oldboy''. A rising star early in her c ...
as Mi-do, Dae-su's love interest.
* Ji Dae-han as No Joo-hwan, Dae-su's friend and the owner of an internet café.
** Woo Il-han as young Joo-hwan
*
Kim Byeong-ok
Kim Byeong-ok (born October 11, 1960) is a South Korean actor. A veteran supporting actor, he is best known for his role as Mr. Han in '' Oldboy''.
Career
In 2015, he was featured in a controversial Maxim
Maxim or Maksim may refer to:
En ...
as Mr. Han, Woo-jin's bodyguard.
*
Yoon Jin-seo
Yoon Jin-seo (born Yoon Soo-kyung, August 5, 1983) is a South Korean actress. She rose to prominence for her performance as Lee Soo-ah in the 2003 thriller film '' Oldboy'' which earned her the Best New Actress Award at the 40th Baeksang Arts ...
as Lee Soo-ah, Woo-jin's sister.
*
Oh Dal-su
Oh Dal-su (born 15 June 1968) is a South Korean actor.
Career
Oh Dal-su began his acting career in theater in Busan, and since 2001 has been the head of theater company ''Singiru Manhwagyeong'' ("Mirage and Kaleidoscope"). His rich experience ...
as Park Cheol-woong, the private prison's warden.
Production
The corridor fight scene took seventeen takes in three days to perfect and was one
continuous take; there was no editing of any sort except for the knife that was stabbed in Oh Dae-su's back, which was
computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images may ...
.
The script originally called for full male frontal nudity, but Yoo Ji-tae changed his mind after the scenes had been shot.
Other computer-generated imagery in the film includes the ant coming out of Dae-su's arm (according to the making-of feature on the DVD, the whole arm was CGI) and the ants crawling over him afterwards. The
octopus
An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...
being eaten alive was not computer-generated; four were used during the filming of this scene. Actor Choi Min-sik, a
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
, said a prayer for each one. The eating of squirming octopuses (called ''
san-nakji
''San-nakji'' () is a variety of '' hoe'' (raw dish) made with long arm octopus (''Octopus minor''), a small octopus species called ''nakji'' in Korean and is sometimes translated into "baby octopus" due to its relatively small size compared t ...
'' (산낙지) in Korean) as a delicacy exists in East Asia, although it is usually killed and cut, not eaten whole and alive; the squirming is a result of posthumous nerve activity in the octopus' tentacles. When asked in DVD commentary if he felt sorry for Choi, director Park Chan-wook stated he felt more sorry for the octopus.
The final scene's snowy landscape was filmed in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
The ending is deliberately ambiguous, and the audience is left with several questions: specifically, how much time has passed, if Dae-su's meeting with the hypnotist really took place, whether he successfully lost the knowledge of Mi-do's identity, and whether he will continue his relationship with Mi-do. In an interview with Park (included with the European release of the film), he says that the ambiguous ending was deliberate and intended to generate discussion; it is completely up to each individual viewer to interpret what isn't shown.
Reception and analysis
Critical response
''Oldboy'' received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gives the film a score of 81% based on 151 reviews with an average rating of 7.40/10. The site's consensus is "Violent and definitely not for the squeamish, Park Chan-Wook's visceral ''Oldboy'' is a strange, powerful tale of revenge."
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
gives the film an average score of 77 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' gave the film four out of four stars. Ebert remarked: "We are so accustomed to 'thrillers' that exist only as machines for creating diversion that it's a shock to find a movie in which the action, however violent, makes a statement and has a purpose."
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic and former engineer. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of r ...
of ''ReelViews'' gave the film three out of four stars, saying that it "isn't for everyone, but it offers a breath of fresh air to anyone gasping on the fumes of too many traditional Hollywood thrillers."
Stephanie Zacharek
Stephanie Zacharek is an American film critic at ''Time'', based in New York City. From 2013 to 2015, she was the principal film critic for ''The Village Voice''. She was a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist in criticism.
Early life
Stephanie Zachare ...
of
Salon.com
''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/ liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events.
Content and coverage
''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...
praised the film, calling it "anguished, beautiful, and desperately alive" and "a dazzling work of pop-culture artistry." Peter Bradshaw gave it 5/5 stars, commenting that this is the first time in which he could actually identify with a small live octopus. Bradshaw summarizes his review by referring to ''Oldboy'' as "cinema that holds an edge of cold steel to your throat." David Dylan Thomas points out that rather than simply trying to "gross us out", ''Oldboy'' is "much more interested in playing with the conventions of the revenge fantasy and taking us on a very entertaining ride to places that, conceptually, we might not want to go." Sean Axmaker of the ''
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States.
The newspaper was foun ...
'' gave ''Oldboy'' a score of "B−", calling it "a bloody and brutal revenge film immersed in madness and directed with operatic intensity," but felt that the questions raised by the film are "lost in the battering assault of lovingly crafted brutality."
''MovieGazette'' lists 10 features on its "It's Got" list for ''Oldboy'' and summarizes its review of ''Oldboy'' by saying, "Forget ‘''The Punisher''’ and ‘''Man on Fire''’ – this mesmerising revenger's tragicomedy shows just how far-reaching the tentacles of mad vengeance can be." ''MovieGazette'' also comments that it "needs to be seen to be believed." Jamie Russell of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
movie review calls it a "sadistic masterpiece that confirms Korea's current status as producer of some of the world's most exciting cinema." In 2019 on ''
'', Kim Hyeong-seok said that ''Oldboy'' was the 'zeitgeist of the vigorous Korean cinema in early 2000s', and a 'boiling point that led history of Korean cinema to new state'. Manohla Dargis of the ''
'' gave a lukewarm review, saying that "there is not much to think about here, outside of the choreographed mayhem." J.R. Jones of the ''
'' was also not impressed, saying that "there's a lot less here than meets the eye."
In 2008, ''Oldboy'' was placed 64th on an ''
'' list of the top 500 movies of all time. The same year, voters on
ever made. It was ranked #18 in the same magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010. In a 2016
...